Why I blog.......

There is a blogging carnival hosted by Chilihead. A chance to get to know other bloggers better. Please feel free to join in! Leave your link at Chilihead's place!

How did you start blogging?
Well, I don't remember exactly, but I actually started my blog when a friend made her's to keep up with family far away, but she kinda stopped after a few posts and I'm still going! I think I had to get a blogger account to post a comment, and I just went for it.
Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?
After a couple of weeks of posting and reading other blogs and feeling lonely that I didn't have readers, I decided I wanted to have readers. I'm not out to be huge, but I AM happy to be read! I got a site meter that I obsess over. I listed my blog on sites and groups, I left comments all over the place, I put people's blogs on my blog, etc. Doing memes, like Wordless Wednesday and Thursday Thirteen, are big reader draws.
What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
I just want to reach out and be friends with people. I'm not sure what my "goal" is in that direction, but I like making people laugh, think, or just encourage others. I want to be real, though. I think I am successful for what I want to do, and am well on my way to what I want to see. I'm still commenting my way to get friends, lol. I would LOVE to get more comments, that's where I feel more successful, I like the numbers on my site meter, but I'd feel more connected if I had comments.
Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
I am still writing to an audience, but its more focused now, there are actual people TO write to, but mostly its still the same as far as day to day things that happen and the shameful things my kids do. But I do a lot more memes to get traffic.
What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
I wish I had known more about memes. And the site meter, love the site meter! I would also have loved to pick a better name, great names bring in traffic. Like Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper, not that I'd pick that name, but I HAD to go see what on earth happened at that blog to get that name!
Do you make money with your blog?
Sadly, no. I had Google ads, but when I upgraded blogger it disappeared and it won't let me log in and is too much of a pain to get on my new blog. I would love to do reviews and such, but so far its just too complicated to read all the details while juggling 7 kids and a life outside of blogging.
Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
Some do.
My husband doesn't have any interest unless I force him to read it.
My mom reads it every day and even prints it out, and I convinced her to start her own blog and picked out a great name for her!
My 15yo dd reads it occasionally to make sure I haven't humiliated her recently.
I think my step mom may have read it once or twice, dad, probably never. My siblings don't, either. My friends do read it a lot, and it takes away my story telling, lol. "Yes, I read that on your blog." LOL
What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
1. Pick a great name!
2. Watch what you post, because people will find out about your blog that know you. I used mine sort of like a journal and posted about a situation, even though it was not known really, it did sort of bite me, so I removed it.